Gajua Kopi, Bandung: Poor Coffee, Slow Wifi, But Surprisingly Popular

When I review coffee shops, I primarily care about the taste of the coffee. Secondary issues are speed of the wifi, how good the seating arrangements are, ambience and price. So when I come to a coffee shop which is really bustling, I expect a lot from each of these categories.

At Gajua Kopi I was met with a crowd of about 50 people so I expected something awesome. But sadly, what I experienced was far from that.The cappuccino I ordered had a very odd flavour to it. I’ve never tasted anything like it and in the end I didn’t finish it. It was as if something was mixed with the shot of coffee and it didn’t taste nice.

Most of the customers (95%) were drinking es kopi susu when I was there and were under the age of 20. I’m guessing they were here not for the quality of the coffee, but because they have a massive area to nongkrong, be noisy and smoke. And for those purposes, this place really is excellent.But if you’re a coffee lover, you’re probably not going to be happy here because the product is below Bandung standards. As well as poor coffee, the wifi here was really slow clocking in at 2.8mbps down and 1mbps. This is probably in part due to the young crowd all being connected at the same time. So I wouldn’t come here to open my laptop.Now, right about now I sound like a grumpy old man telling the kids to “get of my lawn”. But unless you’re of a certain age, you really aren’t going to enjoy this place.

One last point. The sticker on my coffee cup was dirty. And it’s exactly where I wanted to drink from. It was really off putting.A decent place to nongkrong if you’re of a certain age, especially if you have a big group. But if you’re searching for Bandung’s best coffee, this is not the place for you.